Shipmap.org
shipmap.org
A stunning data visualization of the global commercial shipping fleet, showing real vessel movement patterns over an entire year.
Synthesizing millions of AIS positioning logs, Shipmap.org renders the full scale of international ocean freight lanes as animated light trails. The interactive map highlights ship types by colour, lets users filter by cargo class, and overlays carbon emission data against route density.
Why it is useful
Global trade is abstract until you see it rendered as ten thousand ships moving simultaneously across every ocean. The animation reveals the structure of the world economy in a single visual — the clustering around the Strait of Malacca, the seasonal shifts in Arctic routes, the sheer density of container traffic into East Asian ports.